Brothers snared in drug probe

PLYMOUTH — After a two-month investigation that began in Sandwich, police arrested several people on drug charges in Plymouth and Wareham on Monday.

By K.C. MYERS

PLYMOUTH — After a two-month investigation that began in Sandwich, police arrested several people on drug charges in Plymouth and Wareham on Monday.

State and town police searched 153 Lake Drive in Plymouth on Monday and allegedly found two handguns, Percocet pills, marijuana, steroids and about $39,000 in cash, according to a press release from the Sandwich Police Department.

The police also seized two vehicles and two motorcycles from the home, the release says.

The investigation began when Sandwich police learned that Kevin Cerce, 30, who lives 12 Old Forge Road in Sandwich, was driving to his brother Nathan Cerce's home in Plymouth every other day to get pills, Sandwich Detective Sgt. Terence Murphy said.

This information led to a search warrant for Nathan Cerce's home, where police said they found drugs and the cash, including $22,000 in a paper bag in the cellar, Murphy said.

A loaded .45-caliber Smith & Wesson was found under a pillow in the bedroom, Murphy said.

Nathan Cerce, 30, and his girlfriend, Kaitlyn Carrier, 24, were arraigned Tuesday in Plymouth District Court on charges of possession of class B drugs with intent to distribute and possession of unlicensed firearms, Murphy said.

Kevin Cerce, 34; Tieraney Flynn, 42; and Melissa Herriger, 44, were arrested in Wareham as part of the investigation, the release says.

Those arrests occurred at around the same time as the search of Nathan Cerce's home. The police followed Kevin Cerce after he left his brother's home and drove to a McDonald's parking lot in Wareham, Murphy said. Flynn sold pills to Herriger inside the women's bathroom of the restaurant, he said.

Kevin Cerce and Flynn were arraigned in Wareham District Court on Tuesday on charges of distribution of a class B substance and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act. Herriger, of Duxbury, was arraigned on a charge of possession.

The arrests followed an investigation by the Sandwich, Bourne, Wareham and Plymouth police, as well as the Massachusetts State Police Cape Cod Drug Task Force, the press release says.